I get it! You're talking with a cat about Parent stuff...
Hey there! Chloe the cat here!
I get it, you’re talking with a cat about parent problems and you wonder why you are and also, how does this cat even understand me?
So here’s the thing…I grew up listening to my human connect with other humans and I picked up the language… humans are complicated, but I learned that by having a safe space to share feelings, my human will talk with me about anything.
It’s like this! I’m a talking cat! You’re a talking human! No big deal!
Problems that seem small but are actually really big.
It all started a few months ago when my human came home early from school and I found them crying on the bathroom floor. The door was cracked open and I slipped in to see what was going on. I walked over, nudged my head on their leg and let out a small chirp to see how they would react. I got pulled into a hug so I knew that my human was ready to talk to me about what happened.
I looked up to her blue eyes crying and brushed my paw onto her cheek. ‘It’s going to be ok. Shhh….shhhh. you’re ok.’ And I just let her cry a little bit before I asked her what happened. She took a deep breath and told me her story.
Someone she thought was going to be her friend turned out to be fake, but before she discovered that, they even invited her to sit at their lunch table only to find out that when she went to sit down, one of the other girls at the table put mashed potatoes in her seat so she would sit on them in front of everyone in the cafeteria.
I let her get it all out and feel what she needed to feel before I asked her what she did after that.
She told me she ran out of the cafeteria to the bathroom and cried in the stall. She stayed there for as long as she could before a teacher came looking for her and was able to call Mom to come get her early.
As she finished her story, she sat there with me on her lap, and for a while we just sat there in silence.
When she finally did talk again, she said she didn’t want to go back to school the next day. It felt like she held me tighter as she spoke. I understood how she felt. I understood that feeling. I wondered if I could help get her to talk to Mom so I came up with a few tips.
3 tips for Understanding Your Kid
1. Give them a safe space to talk
Your kid is going through a lot of changes right now and this can be hard for them. They are learning about themselves and finding their own voice; they are becoming more independent, and turning into their own person.
You have to remember that in this stage of growth, they may not want to share everything they have going on with you. This can be tough for parents. Your kid may act as if your advice isn’t needed and push you away. This is a time when they may share more with their friends and request more alone time.
Try not to take this personally. You were a kid once, right? I’m a cat so I have my moments but when I was a kitten, I would tear through the house and scream for someone to just let me have the ice cream again!
This is a time for you to listen to your kid more than ask all the questions.
- Give them space to open up on their own and in their own way
- Give them access to expressing their thoughts and ideas by giving them a journal
- Create open spaces for conversation like at family dinner, on a walk, or while playing a game
2. Do an activity together
If you want to get your kid to open up and share what they are feeling, you may need to approach things a little differently.
Playing games together will create a safe space for open conversations that don’t feel forced. I get to play with my human all the time. She loves playing tag with me. We have a lot of fun together and she trusts me to keep her words safe.
Honest conversations in this setting can feel less threatening because the bigger focus may be on the challenge of the game or figuring out the activity together. Just remember to keep it light and try not to be too pushy.
3. Give them power to solve their own problems
Problem-solving is a critical skill that helps kids recognize, understand, and manage their own emotions. Don’t get me wrong, at 3am when I have the zoomies for no reason, I still haven’t figured out how to manage that one, but we can’t be purrrfect. We learn to be strong in who we are, not who someone else wants us to be. This is important to allow your kid to discover. This may mean letting them figure problems out on their own even if you really want to solve it for them.
Don’t feel like you can’t give advice if they ask but, ultimately, they have to be the ones to stand up for themselves in life experiences because you may not always be there to do it for them.
In our first book, Mewow: Adventures in Catastrophe (The Bowtie), Mr. Cuddles faces the problem of needing to find the courage to ask his crush to be his meowentine. If he doesn’t find the courage to ask her, he may miss his chance. What will he do?
Obstacles like this seem small when you’re an adult facing much bigger problems but for your kid, something like this can be a big deal if they don’t feel confident in themselves.
Our adventure books allow your kid to read about problems they may be facing but in a space where they can process what they might do in similar situations, giving them the power to solve their own problems.
The moment I realized
When my human and her Mom used these tips to build a stronger relationship, that was the moment I realized more parents should know about Mewow: Adventures in Catastrophe. With these short adventure books, activities and small tips on things like finding courage, self-confidence, and more, parents and their kids will have stronger relationships as they grow.
References
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/preteen.html
https://childmind.org/article/10-tips-for-parenting-your-pre-teen/
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3 Ways To Get to Know Your Kid
With these short stories, activities and small tips on things like finding courage, self-confidence, and more, parents and their kids will have stronger relationships as they grow.
